Systems, Handheld Devices, and Payment Methods for Mobile Commerce

Abstract

The emergence of wireless and mobile networks has made possible the introduction of electronic commerce to a new application and research subject: mobile commerce. Understanding or constructing a mobile commerce system is an arduous task because the system involves a wide variety of disciplines and technologies. This chapter tries to relieve this problem by giving careful studies of three themes of mobile commerce: (1) mobile commerce systems and transactions of which a system includes six components: (a) mobile commerce applications, (b) mobile handheld devices, (c) mobile middleware, (d) wireless networks, (e) wired networks, and (f) host computers; (2) mobile handheld devices, which are the communication devices between mobile applications and users and also include six major components: (a) a mobile operating system, (b) a mobile central processor unit, (c) a microbrowser, (d) input/output devices, (e) a memory, and (f) batteries; and (3) mobile payment methods, which include macro- and micro- payment methods. Other important issues, such as mobile commerce transactions and mobile security properties, are also discussed.